I owe you some stories from my latest trip to Kaliningrad region.
In the previous article, I wrote about my first day in Kaliningrad and places I got to see. In this article, I’ll tell you about the second day which i spent outside Kaliningrad. Interestingly, I structured my itinerary half-assedly as I was tired of thinking everything through, but being lazy turned out to be beneficial.
As I wrote earlier, I felt I was going down with fever, ear- and headache on my first day and that’s why I went to bed earlier than usual. I woke up at 5:30 in the morning. I felt better and sickness almost went away. I cannot explain such a miracle of my early awakening but somehow I managed to made it in time and took a bus to another bus station. The platform was long, various buses and coaches stopped at different parts of the platform. I was at loss what to do and where to go to not miss my coach, so I asked a woman and she directed me to a right place. Luckily, my coach arrived in 7 minutes and I set off to Zelenogradsk.
Note: A lot of people mess up Zelenogradsk (Kaliningrad region) and Zelenograd (Moscow Oblast), I wasn’t an esception. Remember that you need ‘sk’ heheh
In just an hour (a great opportunity for me to get more sleep and feel fresher) I was standing at the Zelenogradsk bus terminal waiting for another (!!!) bus to the Curonian Spit. When I was checking on the timetable while preparing for the trip, I was disappointed that headways were way too long. Well, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t ask a random grandma about my route. I got to ask the right person as she clued me in the right bus number. To add to it, she was going to take the same bus, so I wasnt alone.
On our way we fell to talk from which I learnt that she was heading to the Spit`s forest to collect mushrooms (kinda ordinary matter though). She lived in the centre of Kaliningrad, just near the Amber Museum, and wanted to find me a fellow-tourist on the bus. Soon, she got off the bus with other mushroom pickers and I was left alone guessing which stop to get off.
***
The Curonian Spit is a sand dune shared by Russia and Lithuania and is 98 km long. Only one road traverses the territory, so it’s impossible to get lost. Along the road, there are villages and sightseeing points that are called heights. My intention was to explore one area to get a general impression, that’s why I chose to drop off at Efa height. The place is named after Frans Efa, a German scientist and engineer who devoted his life to sand stabilisation and afforestation of the Curonian Spit.
It was around 8 am when I was on my way to the observation platform. There were just few people, at least few as being alone in the woods would be a bit scary.
We headed towards the Efa height through wood deck road — it is forbidden to step off the route and walk in the forest and damage the ground. It was still an early morning to visit the place as it was rainy and foggy. You know, this type of a weather when you just want to stay peacefully at home. Because of the fog, the view was harder to observe but the advantage was that there were far less people. It felt like I was in some of Nancy Drew video games where I had to discover a mystical murder of a forester. I asked a random girl to take a photo of me against the background of almost nothing.
‘Well, that’s for the good memory’, I thought.
Then I called my granny on Whatsapp and showed her the views. She wasn’t impressed. Well, she used to be there when she was younger heh
‘Don’t take too long here and go to the beach’, she said.
I turned back to the middle of the spit, crossed the road and headed to the beach. I knew it was’t a long way and was right. I was still talking to my granny when an amazing view of Baltic Sea opened to me. It was empty, I was alone on the beach. Peace and quiet. I took endless photos and videos and afterwards called my father to thank him for making this trip real.
I didn’t want to leave. The whole scenery had a reminiscence of Spring Day video. It was still gloomy and I imagined myself a book character reflecting on her life while staring in the distance, somewhere beyond the sea.
For further information about the Curonian Spit check http://www.park-kosa.ru/
***
Somehow, my timing was perfect. I had a grand time admiring the sea and managed to turn back to the bus stop to take a bus back to Zelenogradsk. The way back was faster, I observed locations from the window and wished I got more days to explore the area, but was happy to be granted that opportunity to be there on my own at least for some hours.
On my arrival at Zelenograds, I had lunch (a bun and a milk cocktail) and prepared to go on walking around the town — called my granny again meh. Zelenogradsk is one of the most beautiful towns I’ve ever been to in my life. It differs from other picturesque cities with architecture consistency. The authorities (and the locals) saved the older buildings and built new ones considering the same architectual style. I couldn’t stop taking pictures of everything I saw. Should you turn round the corner, and you’ll find another instagram worth scenery.
When thinking my route in Zelenogradsk through, I chose the beaten road just to chill and enjoy the city. Initially, I checked on my printed guide set by a blogger but then I walked on my own as it was easy to orient myself. I was even shocked when people asked me the way two times and I (!!!) knew the answer. The main and the most famous road in the town is Kurortny avenue, a pedestrian street with lots of shops, boutiques, coffee shops, cafés and souvenir shops.
When travelling, one should keep in mind to live life to the fullest, so I spent money on what I wanted. I enjoyed a cracknel, bought amber earrings and postcards. The shop I left my money in was so colourful and full of cute things that I couldn’t resist!
The local quay is like others in larger cities. After I asked a woman to take a photo of me, we fell into a conversation (once again!). That’s how I met a retired university teacher from Kemerovo who moved to Zelenogradsk just when she got retired. Meine Respektierung! Later I made another small talk with two women…
As the evening was shutting in, I took a coach to Kaliningrad. In fact, it wasn’t a coach, it was a marshrootka, which I disliked the most because the driver didn’t announce stops, so i had to check my online map.
Having humbled myself with the fact that I won’t go anywhere in the evening as I got really tired, I watched the photos of the day and posted them on Instagram. I went to bed later than on the previous day but it was okay as the my last day’s waking up wouldn’t be early. Remeber, you should relax and go with the tide!
That’s how I spent the second day in Kaliningrad region.
